RTÉ's award winning show Don't Feed the Gondolas presented by Sean Moncrieff, satirised small village Ireland at the end of each show, choosing Ahascragh and the fictional "Head of the Parish Co-mit-tea" Monica Loolly as its instrument.
A running gag of the show, whereby the host Seán Moncrieff would make prank calls under the alias 'Monica Loolly' and claim to be from a small town in Galway named Ahascragh.
Tyrrell was born in 1916 to poor parents near Cappagh, Ahascragh, County Galway, Ireland.